Guard for third rails.



No. 805,002. PATBNTED Nov. 21, 1905.

A. A. HIGKERSON & W. H. PHALOR.

GUARD FOR THIRD RAILS.

' APPLIoATroN FILED fue. 1005.

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ATTORNEYS No. 805,062. PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905. A. A. HIGKERSON & W. H. PHALOR.

GUARD POR THIRD RAILS.

APrLIoATIoN FILED FEB. e, 1905.

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INVENTORS.l

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AUGUSTUS A. HIOKERSON, OF REYNOLDSBURG, AND WILLIAM H. PHALOR, OF SHEPARD, OHIO.

GUARD FOR THIRD RAILS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1905.

Application tiled February 6. 1905. Serial No. 244,334.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, AUGUSTUS A. Hroxnn- SON, residing at Reynoldsburg, and WILLIAM H. PHALOR, residing at Shepard, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guards for Third Rails, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to a new and useful improvement in guards for the third rail of electric railways.

The object of the invention is to provide a guard in the form of a housing over the rail, so as to allow the shoe to travel on the rail and to prevent persons from accidentally coming in contact with the railand to reduce the liabilities of persons tampering' with the rail and receiving a shock to a minimum.

Another feature resides in erecting posts within the housing, which act as supports for the roof thereof and provide means upon which the feed-wires may be supported.

Still another object resides in constructing the housing in sections, so that the entire upper structure maybe removed to give access to the third rail and the feed-wires.

Finally, the object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described that will be strong, durable, and eiicient and one which will be comparatively simple and inexpensive to make.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of the novel details of construction and operation, a preferable einbodinnent of which is described in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFM Figure 1 is a front elevation of one of the sections of our improved guard or housing having a portion broken away to show the third rail. Fig. 2isa rear elevation. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View taken on the line .fr w-of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is an end elevation. Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the locking-joints and portions of its adjacent parts. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the removable upper structure. rear elevation of the same. Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the lower or ixed structure, and Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the same.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the ties upon which the housing and rail are supported. Blocks 2, one disposed upon each tie, support the ordinary third rail 3, which Fig. 7 is a partial is disposed to one side of the track. Arranged in front of the rail-and its supporting-blocks and running parallel thereto is a guard-plate 4, secured in a vertical position by suitable angle-irons 5, which are fastened to the ties 1. By observing Figs. 4 and 8 it will be readily apparent that the guard-plate 4 extends slightly above the tread ot' the rail 3, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. Of course it is to be-understood that several of the guard-plates 4, placed end to end, are employed, as it would be impossible to provide av plate having suiiicient length to extend the entire distance of the track.

It might be here stated that the guard or housing comprises a plurality of sections, each of such length as to be readily handled and removed, and it is thought expedient to describe but one of the sections, which description will suce for the others. vEach section comprises, preferably, a pair ot' angular T-iron brackets 6, each having a foot portion 7, by which it is secured to the tie, and the arm portion 8, which projects over the foot portion and beyond the same, being of'greater length. The brackets 6 are disposed upon the ties on the opposite side of the rail from the guard-plate 4 and ata greater distance from the said rail and its supporting-blocks 2,"as clearly shown in Fig. 8. The brackets 6 are formed with the stem portion of the T-iron inward, so as to strengthen the brackets and cause them to be formed with iiat outer surfaces. Extending between the foot portion and the arm of each bracket is a vertical post 9, which has its rear side in contact with the vertical portion of the bracket and straddles the stem portions ot' the said foot 7 and arm 8. It is apparent that the post 9 greatly strengthens and stiii'ens the bracket. The posts 9 may be used to support a plurality of' feed wires or cables 10, which may be supported in ordinary insulators 11 of any approved construction and secured upon the posts in any suitable manner.

For supporting the upper or root' structure we provide angular L-shaped members 12, which are each provided with the downwardlyextending rear portion 13. Supported from each member 12 is an inverted-V-shaped iron 14, being L-shaped in cross-section and having its vertical portion in contact with the upwardly-extending portion of the member 12 and iush with the ends of inclined roof- IOO boards 15, which connect the irons 14 and form the roof of one section, as shown in Fig. 3. The roof-boards 15 are suitably secured upon the inverted-V-shaped irons 14 and form a gable-roof, which tends to shed snow and rain and prevents pedestrians from walking on the roof, which they would bel liable to do if the same was flat. The irons 14 are each provided with a downwardly-extending' front portion 16, to which is secured an upper guardplate 17 which projects downward between the lower guard-plate 4 and the track and, as will be seen by observing Fig. 4, has its lower end extending a short distance below the upper end of thelower guard-plate 4, thus making it extremely diflicult for one to get at the third rail 3 through the opening between the guard-plates. In Fig. 4 I have shown an S- shaped arm 18, which supports the shoe 19 over the third rail, the said arm being connected to the truck of the car in any suitable manner.

In order to make the roof and upper guardplate removable, we form in the horizontal portion of each member 12 a keyhole-slot 20, as shown in Fig. 5, which is adapted to receive the lug 21, provided on each arm 8 of the bracket 6, thereby locking the brackets and the members 12 together. It will be apparent by observing the drawings that the member 12 and the rear portion 13 have a width equal to half of that of the brackets 6 and that each section extends from the adjacent face of the nearest brackets, so that each arm 8 is provided with two lugs 21 to fasten the adjacent ends of opposite sections. The vertical portion of each bracket 6 is provided with four openings 22, two on each side of the stem portion, one above the other. Bolts 23 are passed through the upper openings for fastening in place a removable back-board 24, which has its upper end flush with the rear roof-board 15. However, the rear portions 13 are provided with openings 25, (shown in Figs. 6 and 7,) which receive the bolts 23 when the roof-section is moved forward to cause the contracted portion of the keyholeslots 2O to stand about the lugs 21, bringing the said portions 13 into contact with the brackets 6, in which position they are held by the back-board 24. From this it will be apparent that by simply removing the backboard 24 a view of the interior of the housing or section may be had and that the upper structure may be readily removed by moving the same rearwardly, so as to carry the portions 13 of the bolts 23 and bring the enlarged portions of the keyhole-slots 2O about the lugs 21, when the said upper structure or roof may be lifted off, and thus give access to the rails and wires. A face-board 26 is secured to the lower portion of the brackets 6 by bolts 27 and rests on the ends of the ties 1. It will be apparent that the boards 24 and 26 of each section meet in the center of the vertical portion of the bracket 6, which break joints with them.

We do not wish to limit ourselves to the exact details of construction and operation herein set forth, as we may make various changes in the same wholly within the scope of our claims and without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A guard for third rails comprising ahousing provided with a removable roof and located above the track-bed and over the rail, and independent guard-plates having their free ends overlapping outside of the rail, one of said plates being independently removable.

2. A guard for third rails, comprising a removable roof, means for locking the roof in place, and independent overlapping guardplates outside of the rail.

A 3. In a guard for third rails, a housing arranged over the rail and above the track-bed, a removable roof provided on the housing, independent overlapping guard-plates associated with the housing, and vertical supports arranged in the housing adapted to carry electrical wires or cables.

4. In a housing for third rails, a plurality of brackets, a roof removably supported upon the brackets, means for locking the roof in place, a removable backplate supported on the brackets, a guard-plate carried by the roof and projecting downwardly therefrom, a second guard-plate projecting upwardly and overlapping the first guard-plate but separated therefrom, the said plates projecting between the housing and the track-rails.

In testimony whereof we aliix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUSTUS A. HICKERSON. WILLIAM H. PHALOR. I/Vitnesses:

A. L. PHELPS, M. B. SCHLEY.

IOO 

